Views » October 19, 2018

What Russiagate Skeptics Get Wrong

Email this article to a friend

your email

your name

recipient(s) email (comma separated)

message

captcha

Putin’s movement is founded on “traditional” values of Christianity, homophobia, and anti-feminist and anti-immigrant sentiment.
OR
“What Putin is really guilty of is calling for a multipolar world, not one dominated by the U.S.”

Imagine if the rightwing government of Shinzo Abe in Japan had interfered in the 2016 election in support of Donald Trump. Following which, Trump held a summit with Abe to endorse Japanese territorial claims in Asia as well as Abe’s efforts to remilitarize his country.

The American Left would never countenance a rightwing Japanese nationalist interfering in American politics. But, of course, it wasn’t Japan that hacked into U.S. computers and weaponized the information with the help of WikiLeaks. Nor did Japan make a big social media buy or direct an army of internet trolls to help make Trump’s unlikely victory happen.

It was Russia, where President Vladimir Putin, a rightwing militarist, aspires to lead a global conservative movement with Moscow at its hub. Putin’s movement is founded on “traditional” values of Christianity, homophobia, and anti-feminist and anti-immigrant sentiment. Yet some on the Left give the Kremlin a pass on its interference in U.S. elections (now commonly referred to as Russiagate), due to the mistaken belief that Putin represents a check on U.S. hegemony. “What Putin is really guilty of is calling for a multipolar world, not one dominated by the U.S.,” writes Colin Todhunter in CounterPunch.

In the pages of The Nation, the reporting of Glenn Greenwald, the analysis of Consortium News and the alternative TV broadcasts of the Real News Network—not to mention Moscow’s own RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik—certain progressives sought to debunk Russiagate.

The “core narrative” of Russiagate, as Stephen Cohen has written in The Nation, is an example of “rubbish in, rubbish out,” a fabrication by the U.S. intelligence community.

The skeptics mentioned here effectively agreed with Trump that the news media and liberals everywhere had launched a “witch hunt” against Trump (and Putin). They disputed claims like the identity of the hackers who broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) servers and the connections between the Kremlin and far-right political movements. But their debunking efforts relied on misreading, misinterpretation and outright falsification. In a June commentary in Consortium News, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern was still trying to prove that Guccifer 2.0, the DNC hacker, was not Russian. One month later, the indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller provided copious information on the Russian hackers behind the Guccifer 2.0 avatar.

Much of the reams of nonsense published over the last 18 months has veered into the territory of conspiracy theory. Really, how could you possibly believe that DNC staffer Seth Rich gave all that material to WikiLeaks on the basis of a single, unsubstantiated Julian Assange claim to that effect? The evidence that Mueller has compiled—resulting in the recent indictments of 12 Russian military officers—should have satisfied skeptics.

Yet Russiagate skeptics continue their crusade, albeit shifting focus in the wake of July’s Trump-Putin Helsinki summit. Even if Russia did interfere in the election, they argue, there’s no proof of collusion. More importantly—and here the skeptics are joined by sensible advocates of foreign policy realism in a call published by The Nation—the value of improving U.S.-Russian relations overrides all other considerations.

A continuation of the Russiagate inquiry and an improvement in U.S.-Russian relations are not mutually exclusive. It’s essential to keep investigating Trump’s links to Russia, including the money laundering that Trump may have done for Russian clients close to the Kremlin, because these links reveal how Russia strengthens the political influence of oligarchs and boosts the fortunes of farright politicians. At the same time, we must support U.S.-Russian cooperation, particularly on arms control.

At the Helsinki summit, Putin showed interest in extending the New START Treaty, concluding the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, ending the conflict in Syria and supporting the nuclear deal with Iran.

Trump, however, did not. He has ridiculed the New START Treaty, pledged to expand the U.S. nuclear arsenal, continued—along with Putin—to bomb Syria, and reneged on the Iran nuclear deal.

The United States needs to address Russia diplomatically to solve problems of mutual and global interest, despite Trump’s obvious lack of interest. But let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that Putin is anything more than a ruthless, corrupt autocrat who uses nationalism to promote his own interests.

Help In These Times Continue Publishing

Progressive journalism is needed now more than ever, and In These Times needs you.

I am generating $24000 per 30 days you could also do the same. In office workplace job you dont get that freedom which you need, so office job really sucks. But in Online earning, you have the financial freedom to enjoy your time with your loved ones any time you like and go on trip along with them any month you choose. Here's the only way to start LEGSUTS.TUMBLR.COM

Posted by Samira G. Underwood on 2018-11-04 06:57:59

VERY disappointed to come across another "Russia meddled" that offers conclusions w/o support. Glad that the readers know the difference, if the editors of In These Times do not.

Posted by erichwwk on 2018-10-29 09:50:52

The CIA took out popular prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh, because he threatened the interests of American Oil British Oil(became BP) Inserted the dictator Shah of Iran. He wanted to nationalize the oil in Iran.

Posted by Daniel Platt on 2018-10-28 11:57:30

Spot on!!! USA and Israel meddle. Israel has or is right at this moment meddling in our elections. USA has meddled in other countries elections for decades. Iran,53, Guatemala 54, Cuba, late 50s.(JFK inherited Cuba from the Dulles brothers) East Timor, on and on and on and on!!!!!

Posted by Daniel Platt on 2018-10-28 11:49:09

I am bringing in $19000 on a monthly basis by freelancing from convenience of my home and you can also do the same. In office workplace job you dont get that freedom which you deserve, so company job seriously sucks. But in Internet earning, you will have the financial freedom to enjoy your time with your loved ones any time you like and also go on vacation together with them any month you want. Read more by visiting this page LOOKJORTS.TUMBLR.COM

Posted by Alline D. Ferrer on 2018-10-28 04:30:21

"The FBI and Justice Department would never lie to you" says Establishment Towel Washer.

Posted by sjd on 2018-10-25 12:17:53

Please remove this misleading and deceptive opinion piece. While there is a lot of sound and fury, there is no evidence! Let's not become our own worst enemy.

Or change the headline to "John Feffer jumps the shark again". His intentional deception is quite telling.

Posted by ronbo on 2018-10-24 07:55:55

1) by the standard Israel sets as by far the most "meddling" foreign power , Russia is a lightweight.

2) nothing beyind the slimmest of circumstantial evidence and conjecture has been offered as "proof" that Putin and the Kremlin are connected to any of the indictments.

3) most of the indicted were troll farm web marketers, again, performing not even a sliver of the election interference that Israel does in the bright wide open, and with full support of Congress.

this author is a neoliberal hack in the service of the Washington consensus. just in time for Bolton's abrogation of another missile treaty with Russian. Lockheed loves this guy.

Posted by freedomisthejungle on 2018-10-23 08:39:13

Russia boosting far-right politicians--LOL! When the US under both Obama and Trump financed far, far-right al-Qaeda in Syria and neo-Nazis in Ukraine. In Japan, you have Shinzo Abe celebrating the people who perpetrated the rape of Nanking. In the UK, you have ardent anti-Russia politician Boris Johnson celebrating colonialism and the empire. Russiagate has broken peoples' brains.

Posted by mekdes woineshet on 2018-10-21 08:34:08

More unsubstantiated twaddle from the CIA democrats and the Wall Street-owned Hillary-will-save-us crowd from her private club called the DNC and their boosters.

That crowd, to remind those that have extremely short memories and probably have forgotten this fact by now, committed fraud against Bernie 'F-35' Sanders. That's fact. And he probably would have beaten Trump if the Repubs I've talked to in this heavily red state area I live in that said in conversations that they would have voted for him are any indication.

Yes, you read that correctly. Republicans I know actually told me that they were going to vote for Sanders. But then the DNC cheated. Big time. And haven't stopped whining and blaming Russia since.

Feffer, didn't you learn anything from the 60s and 70s? Trust the politicians? Trust the FBI? Trust the CIA? Do you think we are stupid? Maybe you are hoping that the Big Lie repeated will work.

Not on all of us, dude.

Is Putin an autocrat? Obviously. Is Trump? Obviously trying to be but he certainly is a seriously corrupt 'businessman' in any case. Would Hillary have done similar? Obviously from her rabid speeches along with her and Podesta's emails that were personally taken by ex-Brit Ambassador Murray from the DNC insider and handed to Wikileaks.

Russia wasn't there, Feffer. Don't you get that yet?

Add in the war crimes Hillary committed or abetted while Sec of State (Libya, Ukraine, Honduras) and extrapolate from there if you have any critical thinking skills left to use.

This is like a feud between two greedy mafia families for control of the loot, but both those families are funded by the bigger group of wealthy corporate owners that don't care who gets in as long as they retain control.

Pretty much sucks, doesn't it?

sealintheSelkirks

Posted by seal morgan on 2018-10-20 14:23:04

Podesta, is that you?

Posted by brunssd on 2018-10-20 08:04:38

I never expected such twaddle to make it into In These Times. Refusing to put blind faith in the "deep state" and invisible evidence for hacking or collusion is hardly giving Putin a pass. You want to knock ol' Darth Vlad back? Go out and buy a Pussy Riot album.

Posted by sherlockhemlock on 2018-10-20 04:38:01

The US and Russia have been interfering with each other for over a hundred years and not just elections. It's what nation states in contradiction do. Their habitual meddling never has had a major effect on us or ours on them. Putin is a nationalist dictator out for what he thinks is his best interests. Trump isn't too far behind just less competent .

Posted by DavidD on 2018-10-19 13:35:41

"But let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that Putin is anything more than a ruthless, corrupt autocrat who uses nationalism to promote his own interests."

And how did you become aware of this - from Hillary Clinton's speeches?

Posted by Mao Cheng Ji on 2018-10-19 10:06:30

"But let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that Putin is anything more than a ruthless, corrupt autocrat who uses nationalism to promote his own interests."

As long as it contributes to destruction to U.S. global hegemony, I don't give a rat's ass about that.

I will join forces with Satan himself to take down U.S. hegemony.

Posted by Bankotsu on 2018-10-19 09:22:02

"One month later, the indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller provided copious information on the Russian hackers behind the Guccifer 2.0 avatar."

What "copious information" did he provide, other then some stories that will never be challenged in court?

In fact, one of his indictments ("Concord Management") is being challenged, and one of his responses is a demand to keep his 'evidence' secret. So, where's that "copious information"?